by Boris3

Created on: June 10, 2010

Online and tradition poker may seem similar, but in reality are completely different beasts. I'll outline for you a few of the major differences and what it takes to be a good player in both games.

What's important for online poker play- In online poker, unlike traditional you can not really so much on tells and mannerisms of your opponents since you can not physically see them. What many of the better online players have been using recently are computer programs that track what their opponents do. What percentage of hands does your opponent play pre-flop? The program will show you that the player for example plays 23% of his hands. Say the flop was Q Q 4, and you have 44, the only hand that could possibly beat you is Q 4, but since your opponent only plays 23% of his hands you can almost completely rule him out as having Q 4, as that is not even a top 50% hand. These programs will also show you tons of other data, how often your opponents raise, how often they bet the flop, bet the turn, bet the river. How often they go to show-down (making it all the way to the river). Once you understand this data and find usual applications for using it against your opponent this can be an extremely strong tool to outplay your poker foes. These programs are only allowed on some poker sites so if you plan to use one make sure to check into whether or not your preferred poker site allows it.

What's important for traditional poker play- In traditional poker play you won't be able to have a program to do half the thinking for you. You are going to have to use a lot of concentration watching your opponents and trying to pick up their playing styles and tells. Also when playing traditional poker at home and in the casinos it can often be to your benefit to be friendly with the opposition if you are playing aggressively, they will be more likely to fold to your bets and raises, not wanting to get into a battle with someone they now consider a friend. If its your goal to be a winning player at this game you will have to take advantage of their weaknesses and not reciprocate.

Also there are some etiquette rules applied in traditional poker that you will probably want to follow if you expect to be invited back to the game. Tip the dealer ($1 a pot is pretty typical, this is a casino game) In some home games you may just deal yourself and tipping the dealer then is usually not expected. Don't make too much conversation in big pots, in a large pot where players are trying to concentrate typically tone down your voice or don't talk at all so the players involved can think. Chopping the blinds is common as well in casinos, you don't have to agree to do it, but if you do you should chop every hand. Chopping the blinds is when everyone folds around to the small and big blind, if they both agree you just take back your blinds and move onto the next hand. It saves on rake and presumably moves the game along rather than wasting time on a hand where neither of the blinds probably has much of anything.

Most important remember to have fun in these games! If you are not enjoying it and/or making money then you should probably find another hobby. It can be a fun game just remember to not take things too seriously (although its nice to win) and only play with money you can afford to lose, good luck!

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